Back to school, back to school...

Well, tomorrow is my first day back at work.  We have two days of professional development and some time to finish up our classrooms and then start with students on Wednesday.  Our open house is on Tuesday night.  I am excited, but definitely have not had much chance to work in my classroom this summer so I have lots to do in two days!  Yikes!  Take a look at my classroom as it looked when I came in the first time.  I have lots of work to do!





I did manage to get a littl work done last week, but not nearly enough!  Here's a picture of one of my new bulletin boards.  I decided to use wrapping paper for the background and it looks great!  I don't even want to add up how much money I spent this summer changing my classroom theme, but man, I LOVE it!  It's so me!

I am really going to miss my time with my little girl, but it's always exciting starting a new year!  I can't wait to meet my students and start building relationships.  One of the best things I have learned is how important relationships are in the classroom.  I want students to know how much I care about them!  I make sure I greet every student every morning, and I tell them I love them every day before they leave.  I used to worry that parents might not like this, but I decided there are too many children who don't hear it enough.  So far, I haven't heard a complaint.

My teachers pay teachers store is up and running.  I've posted some months and days cards in hot pink and lime green and some focus posters that I plan to use in my room this year.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hollywood-Focus-Posters

Well, I think it's time to enjoy the rest of my summer vacation and put school out of my head for one last day!    
    -Heather

School is Calling... I am midway through summer and really enjoying it!  I finally finished my distance learning classes so I am actually able to relax a little bit.  But guess what?  Suddenly, school is calling me!  I am starting to think about what this next year will bring.  I have tried ignoring it, but somehow it keeps creeping back into my mind:) 
We are starting a new literacy curriculum, Journeys, and I am excited about that.  I went to a half day inservice where we got a chance to learn about the curriculum. It looks great!  Of course, when you start a new curriculum, it takes time to learn so I plan to spend some extra time planning this year.

Here are a few pictures of the decorations I am going to use in my room this year.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am decorating with lime green, hot pink, black, and white.  I made some tissue paper pompoms and I plan to use the pink fabric and different wrapping papers to cover bulletin boards.  I totally love the penant boarder. I can't wait to see the room after I decorate!  I am heading in to school this week so I will post the finished product when I get a chance!

I am working on my first few projects for Teachers Pay Teachers right now.  I doubt that I'll make much money, but it is fun!  You can see my store here:  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Bittner

Well, I better get back to playing with my daughter!  Have a great week!

Summer!
Like many of you, I am trying to balance taking classes, planning for next year, spending time with my family, and relaxing.  I think I am doing pretty well!  My 19 month old daughter is definitely giving me a run for my money, but she's lots of fun, too!
One thing that I am getting very excited about is decorating my classroom.  I know it's not exactly new and unique, but I decided on black, white, hot pink, and lime green. Pink is my favorite color and I love zebra print so it seemed fun to do my room this way!  It seems like every time I leave the house, I come home with something to go with my color scheme.  Not exactly good for my wallet!
On another note, I decided to upgrade to a seller's account on www.teacherspayteachers.com so maybe I will be able to make some fun products to share with all of you.  Take care!  I will have pictures of my classroom soon!
Now enjoy that summer!  See you soon!
Heather